Sri Ramana Maharshi's Moment of Realization

Page 4

From Sri Ramana Leela by Sri Krishna Bhikshu

On this page we reproduce the account of the experience
which appears in
Sri Ramana Leela
by Sri Krishna Bhikshu. This is the only
biography which is known to have been checked for accuracy
by Sri Ramana.

It was mid-July. One afternoon, Venkataraman was lying in the
first floor room when, for no apparent reason, he had a sudden
fright that he would die; "I am dying," he thought. Years later,
Bhagavan narrated the experience in the following manner:—

"There was no reason for me to think like that. I did not even
know what that state was nor why I was afraid. It did not occur to
me that I should consult either a doctor or some elders. The only
problem for me was what death meant and how it could be avoided.
I resolved to solve it at once. Death meant that the limbs
stiffened, lips tightened, eyes closed and breath stopped. By
intense thinking, all this came to be experienced. But neither
memory nor awareness disappeared. In other words, the sense organs
ceased to operate externally and an inward look established itself.
Even if the body died, the sense of 'I' did not go. The consciousness
of individuality was very much there. When the body was taken to the
graveyard and reduced to ashes 'I' did not perish because 'I' was
not the body.

"The body was inanimate and without knowledge but I had
knowledge. Therefore death was for the inanimate body whereas 'I'
was imperishable and was consciousness.

"The knowledge one had when the body and senses ceased to
function was not the product of the senses. The awareness of
'I' was direct, self luminous and not a product of any thought.
The entity which survived death was consciousness."

Thus in a trice, Venkataraman had new knowledge.

Though the experience was described step by step, it all
happened in a flash.

This is the only biography of Sri Ramana Maharshi which is known
to have been corrected for accuracy by him. Written in Telugu and originally published in 1936,
it was not available in English until 2004. The author was a lawyer and devotee of Sri Ramana.